1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to memory management. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and apparatus for utilizing a semiconductor memory of a node as a disk cache.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, a node (e.g., a server) in a configuration (e.g., a high availability server cluster) hosts various resources (e.g., software applications, storage devices, networking components, etc.) in a computing environment. For example, nodes (e.g., servers) in a high availability server cluster generally operate as either a primary/active node or as a secondary/backup node forming a primary-secondary relationship where the secondary node supports the primary node. For example, if a failure at the primary node occurs, there is a seamless, transparent transition between the primary node and the secondary node where the secondary node hosts the various resources to the computing environment.
In this example, the various resources at the secondary node are only utilized during a failure. Hence, a semiconductor memory (e.g., a cache, a memory, a storage device) at the secondary node remains idle for most of the time until there is a failure of a primary node. As a result, during normal operation of the high availability cluster, the semiconductor memory at the secondary node is underutilized by the cluster. Consequently, in large organizations, underutilized resources may increase costs related to information technology.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for utilizing the semiconductor memory of a secondary node as a disk cache for a primary node.